June 28, 2007
(Asheville, NC) The National Park Service announced today that FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Inc. (FRIENDS) has received a grant for $7,000 to hire a part-time FRIENDS' volunteer coordinator to support the Youth Volunteers in the Parks (YVIP) Program. A requirement of the Community Foundation Western North Carolina grant is a community match to ensure that the position is fully funded. FRIENDS will reach out to the Asheville business community to contribute a minimum of $10,000 in matching funds in order to fulfill grant requirements and provide supplies and materials for the program. This part-time coordinator will work with Parkway personnel to develop youth group projects and then recruit volunteer groups to implement them. The program aims to involve youth in activities promoting natural and cultural resource stewardship along the Blue Ridge Parkway and will target a wide variety of youth organizations in western North Carolina.
Susan Jackson Mills, Ph.D., Executive Director of FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Inc. explained that it is FRIENDS conviction that "ultimately, the protection of the natural environment will be in the hands of our youth. More is needed than education -- youth need to be exposed to experiences that help preserve and protect the Parkway's natural resources. The Youth Volunteers in Parks (YVIP) Program does this, while inspiring lifelong stewardship and conservation ethics in our youth."
Superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Phil Francis, adds that "It is for long-term sustainability and the future of both Western North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Parkway that FRIENDS is focusing on the next generation of young people to protect and preserve the Parkway. We are excited about the potential this grant opportunity offers."
FRIENDS has a successful history of working with youth volunteers through its successful Viewshed Restoration projects where seedlings and mature trees are planted to buffer the commercial and residential developments that encroach on the scenic Parkway views. Over the past two years, more than 700 FRIENDS volunteers planted 1000 trees, with 30 percent of the volunteers being young people.
FRIENDS, a nonprofit Parkway partner organization for 19 years, raises funds to support various Parkway programs and administer volunteer programs and projects as well. For more information please call 540-389-6804 or contact
Susan_Mills@friendsbrp.org. or
www.BlueRidgeFRIENDS.org.
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